Single Daddy (The Single Brothers 1)

His expression darkened, and he shifted slightly on the sumptuous leather seat. “My fortune has nothing to do with the Cartwright paper empire, Ambra. You should know by now that Philip disowned me years ago.”

She blinked, digesting the news slowly. “No, I didn’t know that. I’d just assumed you had left and chose not to return for…reasons.” Had she really assumed he hadn’t come back because of her confession?

Now that she really took time to examine the idea, she realized how preposterous it was. Ethan wouldn’t have stayed away to spare her feelings or avoid awkwardness, because he wasn’t that sensitive. He was more the alpha male, take-charge, run-you-over and destroy-all-opposition type. Once upon a time, she’d found that incredibly sexy.

Disconcertingly, as she examined him from the corner of her eye where he sat across from her on the other seat, she had to admit he was still as sexy as ever. Three years had passed, but he looked just as young as ever. He had to be thirty by now, since she was twenty-one, but he could have passed for his mid-twenties.

However, his perfectly tailored gray suit and expensive haircut lent him an air of maturity and wisdom she assumed was deceptive, since he had resorted to kidnapping just recently. “Will you just tell me what all this is about? I have things I have to do, and having a little chat with my stepbrother doesn’t rank high on the list.”

He pulled a face, feigning hurt. “You’ve destroyed me, Ambra. Why, three years ago, you wanted to have a lot more than a cozy chat.” He surprised her by crossing the distance between them to sit on the seat beside her.

Ambra scooted as far away as she could, until she pressed against the car door. The jerk followed, not allowing any room between them. “Have you ever heard of personal space?”

He put his arm around her shoulders, his fingers stroking her upper arm in a way that was maddeningly distracting. She no longer felt anything emotionally for him, and she didn’t want to allow physical response to sway her. It was awfully hard to remind herself of that when his other hand grasped her thigh, squeezing lightly as he moved farther northward.

With determination, Ambra put her hand over his, pressing her fingernails into his flesh in a warning fashion. “Stop playing games and tell me what you’re doing.”

“That’s easy enough, Ambra. I’m claiming you.”

She arched a brow, staring at him impassively. “Just what the heck does that mean?”

Ethan laughed lightly, revealing sharp white teeth. “It means I’m taking you up on the invitation issued three years ago.” Despite her hand on his, he moved higher up her leg, until his fingers brushed her mound. Ambra hated the way her panties dampened at the slightest touch from him. “Don’t you remember that night, Ambra?”

She glared at him as she tried to pull his hand away. He didn’t move any higher, but he didn’t take the forceful hint to move away either. “I try to think about that incident as little as possible. In fact, never sounds good. In my mind, it never happened.” Her face tingled as she flushed, and embarrassment crept over her again just from the memory of that night.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Ambra, because there isn’t a day I don’t think about it. I remember you coming into my room in that tiny white nightgown, your breasts barely held in place by strategically placed lace. I remember you telling me how much you wanted me, and that you loved me. Do you remember you said you had fallen for me during that summer, when I came to live with you for a while after my mother died? You were certain I felt the same way.”

She snorted. “It didn’t take you long to tell me otherwise, did it? Why would I want to remember that horrid night when I was such a little fool? Just take me home, Ethan.”

“I am, Ambra. I’m taking you to my home, and then I’m going to take you.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, certain he was bluffing. “I still don’t know what you’re getting out of this, but it’s not funny. I don’t want you, and you don’t want me. You didn’t then, and you don’t now, so whatever your motives—”

With the speed of a striking snake, Ethan lifted her onto his lap, and before she could even think about pushing him away, his mouth covered hers. Ambra tried to resist, but as soon as his lips molded to hers, her annoying body betrayed her by melting against him. His tongue probed the seam of her lips, demanding entry that she didn’t want to refuse, and her lips parted to allow him access.

Ethan seemed determined to taste every niche in her mouth, and his tongue swept forcefully through her moist recesses. She tried to pin it with her own against her cheek, but he was wily and darted away before deepening the kiss, his hand grasping the back of her head, fingers threaded through her black locks to hold her in place against him.

Ambra whimpered as his mouth devoured hers, though she wasn’t impassive by any means. She was an ardent participant, and her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they slid under the lapels of his jacket, trying to stroke his skin through the fine linen shirt.

Her nipples beaded when he cupped one of her breasts, his thumb rubbing lightly against the turgid bud. She arched her back, not certain if she was trying to escape or asking for more as his mouth moved from hers down her cheek, to her neck. She couldn’t hold in a moan when he nibbled and sucked the bend of her neck. Her fingers sought out the buttons of his shirt, and she had partially stripped him, plunging her hands inside to stroke his firm chest before she realized what she was doing.

With a gasp and a groan that was partially from forcing herself to disengage from him, she pushed against him instead of continuing to stroke his lightly furred chest. Ambra turned her head from him, making it more difficult for his mouth to find hers if he grew bored with her neck, and she drew in a deep breath in an attempt to restore her calm. “Let go of me.”

“Never, Ambra. You’re mine now. You offered yourself three years ago, but you were too young, and I was trying to do the right thing. You’ve had a chance to explore other relationships and grow older now, and you’re finally ready to belong to me.”

Her eyes widened at his chauvinistic words, and her heart raced, though she wasn’t certain if that was from excitement, annoyance, or a combination of the two emotions. “You can’t just claim me, Ethan. I was a dumb girl back then, and I let an attraction overwhelmed me. It didn’t mean anything.”

His expression darkened, and he cupped her face between his hands. “It meant a great deal. It was harder than hell to turn away from you, and I won’t make that mistake again. When I heard you were about to marry Statler, I knew I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I had to send you away that night because of your age and your inexperience. You were barely eighteen, and you hadn’t even really dated. You weren’t ready to belong to a man, but it’s been three years, and if you can get engaged to the toilet paper prince, you’re certainly ready to belong to me.”

Ambra wanted to continue to shake her head and refuse to listen to him, but his sincerity and intensity made it impossible to doubt what he was saying. Could it be he’d really wanted her three years ago, but had turned her down because he’d thought it was the right thing to do? Had he been trying to be a good guy and inadvertently scarred her in the process?

She almost laughed, though it would be a sharp, bitter sound rather than one of amusement. She had dated a few times the past three years, but remembering Ethan’s cold rejection, she had locked away any real interest in the opposite sex. She never allowed things to progress to the point where she felt anything for the man she was dating, or had the urge to give in to carnal desires.

She was just as much an inexperienced virgin now as she’d been three years ago, and perhaps admitting that to him was the key to convincing him to allow her to go home. The admission hovered on the tip of her tongue, so it was a surprise when she said something completely different.

“It doesn’t matter what I want or what you want, Ethan. All that matters is the stability of the company and the jobs at stake. The merger has to go through, a

nd Perry’s father is old-fashioned enough to refuse to allow a merger without a marriage to cement it. You have to take me home right now, or you’ll be directly responsible for the loss of eight-thousand jobs.”

“Actually, Ambra, dear old Dad’s mismanagement will be responsible for the loss of all those jobs, and you aren’t going anywhere except to my house.”

She glared at him. “You can’t just kidnap me.”

He smirked at her. “Watch me, babe.”